donkaye, MCFI

Sorry, Andy, but you are incorrect. Almost from the very beginning the GBTs were updated to be able to handle ADS-B Out from an aircraft having both 978 and 1090. Below is the response to an email from me to the FAA in 2014:

The 345 wasn't out when I did my upgrade, so I got both the GDL 88 for ADS-B Out on 978 and the 330 ES (then changed that to 335) for ADS-B Out on 1090. So I have the benefit of ADS-B Out on both 978 and 1090 with ADS-B In on both frequencies with the GDL 88. The best route now for both ADS-B In/Out would be the GTX 345 with the R version for remote. The GMA 35c is nicely mounted behind the GTN 750. For the remote versions you give up 4 data fields on the GTN. I find that perfectly acceptable, since I also have six data fields on the GTN 650 default page, but that is a consideration. I had plenty of room so I didn't go remote with the transponder, but can control it through either the GTN or the transponder itself. Controlling both the audio panel and transponder through the GTN 750 is really nice. As Larry states below you, need both an audio panel and a transponder either in the panel or remotely.

Not exactly. The reason for getting an instructor specific to your type of airplane is because with their experience in type they can teach good practices from the beginning. Because they know the airplane well, they should see well in advance when things are about to go wrong and step in to prevent a problem. An instructor not intimately familiar in type just can't impart that type of knowledge. It takes time to gain the knowledge. Like a doctor who specializes in a particular phase of medicine, it has always made sense to me to specialize in a particular airplane type, especially when it comes to transition training. Flight instructing is a rewarding endeavor. You can be part of helping many people achieve their dreams while doing the same for yourself.

In my opinion, yes.

This one is a tough one to swallow in that it appears that the student had recently purchased the airplane and was flying with a well known very experienced Mooney specific CFI. The writeup was measured and put the student in the best light possible in view of the end result. As a Bravo owner and flight instructor, I'd like to "Monday morning quarterback" this accident and from experience try to analyze this takeoff from the above description. I'm going to assume in September early in the morning at Chandler with a field elevation of 1,243 feet, the DA was less than 2,000 feet, so DA was not a factor in this accident. I'd need a better angle on the plane to see if approach flaps had been applied. That would make a difference. You get ⅔ as much lift as drag with approach flaps. In fact I always keep approach flaps in on climb out until all low level turns have been completed. A soft field takeoff does begin with the yoke fully back. So far so good. It takes about 4 seconds (not 2) in the Bravo for the nose to start up and another 4 seconds for the wheels to come off the ground. If the elevator was full back at the start of the roll there is no way it could have been too abrupt. While the crosswind component of 8 knots would make the takeoff a little more difficult, it should not have been a deciding factor in the outcome. From the description, the pilot did not relax the back pressure when the nose wheel came up and did not further reduce the pressure to a level attitude as the wheels came off the ground. The acceleration part of the flight in ground effect should be flown no greater than a foot off the ground. This will reduce induced drag by nearly 50% and allow for brisk acceleration in the Bravo. The elevator had to have been held back for it to bounce several times and not accelerate, as it should have. He was not flying in ground effect, but bouncing in a stalled condition down the runway. The Bravo accelerates nicely when in ground effect when coming off the ground 10 knots below the normal takeoff speed of 65 knots due to the reduction in induced drag discussed above. The gear should never be raised below 50 feet. That sealed their fate.

I think it is imperative to teach soft field technique. I want the student to be able to know what it feels like to operate the airplane successfully at the edge of the envelope. Doing a soft field takeoff in a Mooney is no different than doing it in any other airplane. I do tell the student that it is not advisable to actually do a soft field takeoff on a soft field due to the landing gear design of the Mooney. I do, however, know of several Mooney owners who operate out of soft fields, Jerry Johnson, an instructor for the Mooney PPP being one of them. There is absolutely no problem in doing it with the power of the Bravo. With a normally aspirated Mooney model at high density altitude, it's not a good idea. At that point even doing a normal takeoff requires paying close attention to the POH required takeoff distances. With the Bravo, as the nose comes up, with the engine torque generated with its 270 HP and large P-factor, a large amount of right rudder is required to maintain runway alignment even with full right rudder trim. As the nose comes up, it is essential to relax the back pressure to maintain the normal takeoff attitude, and as the wheels come off the ground even more release of back pressure is required to keep the plane in ground effect until accelerating through 80 knots, whereupon the climb out should be nailed at Vx until clear of obstacles. Conscious effort is required to keep the nose down as the plane accelerates in ground effect. Nobody new to the airplane wants to do that, as they think they will hit the prop. An experienced Mooney CFI will not let the student do it by themselves the first time. In fact, I have the student follow me through a demo the first time. From my experience it will generally take about 3 times before a student will feel comfortable doing them. That's why, during transition training most takeoffs will be soft field takeoffs if someone is working with me. Mooneys can be where you go to learn soft field technique as part of good training/transition training.

The current situation certainly has decimated the flight instructing profession. Since I'm in the critical age group, I need to be more careful that the younger group. I have a number of people who have called asking for Flight Reviews, and I have one student who wants to continue with his Instrument rating, so I am interested in getting started as soon as possible. After the "Shelter in Place" has been lifted, if someone wants to work with me, I'll be confirming that they haven't been sick for at least the previous 14 days, will probably require that, with a sanitized digital "touch" thermometer supplied by me, they don't have a temperature, and provide sanitizer to clean both of our hands and yoke before flight. Until there is a vaccine, this virus will be changing the way we do business.

It really depends on the group of airports I'm working. For instance in the Stockton area, there are a number of different approaches to practice just for the Stockton airport. In that case on the missed and going downwind, to expedite things, I'll do 140 kts until base turn, then start slowing on base. Since ATC turns you on base about 10 miles out, I'll keep my speed up until a couple of mile before GS/GP intercept, then pop the speed brakes to slow to 105 kts (5 knots below flap speed) and run the balance of the approach at the speed. Of course, if I'm going to land then slow down and add flaps to land on the 1,000 foot marker at touchdown speed. In an area like the Monterey Bay where there are 4 airports to "ping pong" off of, all very close together, I'll tend to stay slightly above the bottom of the power curve (around 120 kts) for efficiency and fuel savings. For example, in yesterday's flight I only used a total 24.8 gallons. For a typical 1½ flight for the Bravo it would usually be around 30 gallons including 29 gal/hr in the climb.

New definition of "Shelter in Place" as found online: "As this explainer, well, explains, residents of the six counties (Bay Area) in question can get in their car to drive elsewhere, can pick up takeout from the many restaurants still serving it, can go out for a walk or run or for all sorts of other activities (while advised to stay six feet from others), and on and on. Police have some discretion to enforce a stricter set of guidelines, but as of now they aren’t doing so at all. You can leave your house whenever you want." I went flying today for the first time in 3 weeks. I never came close to another person. I drove to the airport alone, entered the gate code to open the gate, then disinfected with a bottle of Germ-X I've had in my flight bag for a few years before you couldn't buy a disinfectant if your life depended on it, and drove to my hangar. Awhile back I had updated the System to the G5, which among other things is the heart of the GFC 500, but had never flown to check it out. I decided to go over to the Monterey Bay and shoot a few approaches. It was forecast to be IFR over there all day. Earlier, I had called Norcal to see if they were allowing multiple approaches. They were. During the trip over, which was VFR, I could checkout the G5. KSJC was not "dead as a door nail", but it was close. One Southwest plane came in as I was doing my runup, but there had been no activity since I had gone to the hangar. On the trip over to KSNS, I did my testing and, unlike some people who were having problems with this update, my G5 worked perfectly. Tops were above 3,200 feet so all the approaches were in IMC and all holding was IMC. In the 1½ hours I worked over there I was the only one working the airports. The GFC 500 continues to be amazing. Here is the FlightAware track of my flight. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N9148W I did the RNAV 13 into Salinas, did the hold, then got vectored for the same approach. On that missed I asked for and got the RNAV 28L approach into KMRY. ATC asked me if I wanted to do the hold for that approach or get vectored, so I took the full approach with the hold. That was the 3rd approach and I had promised Shirley I would only be gone a couple of hours, so I got a clearance back to San Jose, where I flew the ILS. While the airspeeds varied as required, track and GP were rock solid. Unlike many previous times, there were no delays or "keep up your speed" requests getting back into San Jose. It was a good break from staying home all day.

You made the right decision. W Brown would not add me as an additional insured with a waiver of subrogation for the Mark Brandemuehl training due to age. I wouldn't do the training under those circumstances. It happened one other time. They are not nice, and from my perspective, their underwriters don't even have half a brain.

My airplane had been stuck in Stockton for the past 3 weeks. I had taken it over there to get my prop deice fixed. It was completed a day after the "social distancing" went into effect. It didn't occur to me until a couple of days ago that there was a way to get it back without the need of another person helping me to get over there. I called Atlantic at San Jose International where my airplane is based and asked them if they could get me a car for a one way trip. After talking with Hertz they confirmed, yes. So, for $58 I could drive over and leave the car at Atlantic in Stockton. So armed with a large can of Lysol Spray, Clorox antiseptic wipes, CVS wipes I had bought before they were impossible to get, and several pair of 5 mil Nitrile gloves from a stash I had bought before all this happened, I drove down to the airport yesterday to pick up the car. I put on the gloves and pickup up the keys. I opened the car and spayed it down with the Lysol Spray and wiped the dash and steering wheel with a Clorox wipe. I still was a little uncomfortable driving the hour and a quarter (usually an hour and forty five minutes, but with no traffic...) to Stockton because I didn't have a mask (impossible to get now). My thought process in doing all of this was that I would only have to interact with 2 people, the Hertz person and the Atlantic person in Stockton when I dropped off the keys. I had already asked Mark at Top Gun to leave the plane outside with the keys and logbook entry. So far so good. I dropped off the keys and walked over to Top Gun where the plane was outside as planned. I did the preflight and opened the door. I sprayed the Lysol over the cockpit, wiped down the glare shield and yokes with the Clorox wipe, and kept the gloves on. I started up and taxied for takeoff. I planned on stopping at Byron, C83, for "cheap" fuel. I was cleared for takeoff, and as I started rolling I noticed a crackling sound over my headset but discounted it as a battery issue. However, as I gained speed, I noticed the AOA did not light up as expected. I aborted the takeoff, knowing from a previous experience that the AOA connector was probably not hooked up. So much for my planned 2 person interaction. At least this issue would be dealt with outside. As I walked down the wing walk, I was shocked to notice that the baggage door latch was in the open position. That was the takeoff noise. I profusely thanked the mechanic for forgetting to hook up the AOA. In the past I always check the baggage door before getting into the plane. I also do a quick look over my shoulder before taking off. During the heat of this battle I didn't, and it almost bit me in the a.. Extra care in these times needs be exercised when other things may be on your mind. Other than a bumpy flight over to C83 and winds on landing at 14G24, the flight was uneventful. The gloves were unnatural to me but all the avionics worked with them on. I've not worn gloves pumping fuel in the past, but will in the future. After topping off, it was off again to KSJC. I pickup up flight following on the way back. I've never heard 125.35, one of the major frequencies into the Bay Area, so quiet. I almost asked for a radio check, but as I was about to key the mic, the controller came on and handed me off to the next frequency. San Jose Tower was next. On downwind I saw only a couple of Southwest planes at the terminal. Many times on landing when I ask for a back taxi on the runway if traffic permits, it doesn't. No problem this time. For the time I was at the airport no other planes either landed or took off. Really unusual for San Jose. So the plane is back home in its hangar, and I'm back home to continue our indefinite Shelter in Place.

Also, I would not be real thrilled about getting on a Commercial airplane for either the trip to or the trip back from ferrying an airplane.

I had a similar situation many years ago at a PPP in Palm Springs. It was an M20K and we were doing the emergency gear extension demonstration when the plastic covering on the pull wire separated and jammed the mechanism. As a last resort I pushed the circuit breaker in and hoped the actuator would overcome the jam. Whew! It did and the gear came down. That was the last time I did the gear emergency in actual practice. In my opinion it should only be practiced during Annual when the plane is on jacks or in an actual emergency.

As of this date, 3/19/2020, I don't think that would be possible in California, as the whole state has been forced to "shelter in place". Reviewing the rules associated with that declaration by the Governor, that means GA, except as relates to health service flying, is shut down.

So much for "no problem getting food and supplies"... Went to Safeway early this morning for the over 65 2 hours. Made no difference. The store was almost empty of both people--and groceries. When questioned, I was told there was supposed to be a delivery last night, but it didn't come in. Of course absolutely no paper supplies at all including paper towels and toilet paper. Almost all other shelves were empty. Minimal fruits and vegetables. People are obviously in panic mode.

Larry, lucky you are there and not "sheltered in place", as you could have been.

25 years ago I didn't understand pre briefing as well as I do now. I popped the speed brakes on descent through clouds and they froze in the up position. It may have happened one time later. I don't have TKS. I just don't go now if there is a possibility of icing. If you are living in a climate where icing is prevalent in the wintertime, then I would either get TKS or stay on the ground if you plan on flying in clouds. Briefings are good enough now to know that in advance. I'd much rather be prudent in the go/no go decision than dead. If you were not prudent, then I would disconnect the AP on descent to give yourself the best chance to survive a possible icing encounter. For TKS airplanes pulling the speed brake circuit breaker is a good idea.

The speed brakes can freeze in the UP position if ice is encountered in even inadvertent situations. Don't use them in any icing conditions.

Turning on the NAV lights does dim all the other lights, deliberately, as it assumes night. It also enables the dimmer rheostats in the lower right hand panel. Try turning the rheostats full ON to see if it makes any difference. Older wiring can create some problems. My plane is in maintenance now for a problem with the prop deice. Turns out it was a broken ground wire. It took a number hours to find the problem. I'm looking forward to getting the plane back this week--maybe. Turns out I'm in the group in California that is supposed to self isolate. Thank you, John, for your input on the other thread.

Yes. A good friend of my Mother died from it. A friend of mine in elementary school had it and it affected his walking. I remember taking the "sugar cube" vaccine in 5th or 6th grade.

Posted on the Facebook CFI group:

Have you been tested for the virus?

Maybe it was stated before, but the airplanes on top of the roll indicator are the standard rate turn indicators. Increase speed and you will see the airplanes move out to a larger bank angle as expected.

I notice that you are flying an F Model. I agree with the above for the non long body Mooneys. The long body Mooney is a different story. At least one Ovation was totaled at San Carlos a few year ago on a go around, with a newly transitioned pilot after a long day flying from Texas. Raising the flaps first on a go around with full power can be a handful. Raising the gear while trimming down, then reducing the flaps makes for a safer go around.

This is the best method described so far. While most POHs say "Flaps to Approach" first after adding power, that will cause the nose to pitch up immediately and could cause loss of control, especially in the long body Mooneys. Since drag of full flaps is close to the drag of the gear, raising the gear first while trimming down lessens the possibility of loss of control as a result of the nose pitching up with flap retraction, while similarly reducing drag for the climb.